UNITEDWORLD SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

AHMEDABAD

A STUDY ON CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION IN AIRLINES
INDUSTRY

Submitted By:

RAJAT PAL

PGDM(2012-14)
Section- A

Submitted to: Prof. Sapna Choraria

INDEX
TOPICS

Page No

Introduction

Literature Review

4-15

Problem Definition

16

Framework

17

Objectives

18

Hypothesis

19

Research Methodology

20

Data Analysis

21-30

Conclusion

31

Implementation

32

Reference

33

Page 2

INTRODUCTION
The aviation sector is one of the major economic drivers for prosperity, development and
employment in any country, we know it. The rapidly expanding aviation sector in India
handles near about 2.5 billion passengers across the world in a year and moves 45 million
tonnes (MT) of cargo through 920 airlines, using 4,200 airports and deploying 27,000
aircrafts in the world. Today, 87 foreign airlines fly to India and from India five Indian
carriers fly to foreign countries and from 40 countries.
In any business satisfying the customer is the ultimate goal or objective of any marketer.
Excellent passenger satisfaction is one of the greatest assets for air business in todays
competitive environment. Passenger satisfaction service arises when a company can provide
passengers with benefits that exceed passengers expectation and this is considered valueadded. If customers are satisfied with the product or service which the company is providing
then they will buy more, and do so more often. Passenger gratification is an essential goal for
each airline providing passenger services. The on board experience is still something special
for the customer. The customers have a wide choice to select the suitable airline product
according to their requirements. Therefore, Airlines Companies are continuously working on
the in-flight product development and innovation to differentiate themselves from their
competitors. There are many factors that can help an Airlines Company to build its customer
base, and passenger service and satisfaction can be a determining factor in the success of an
entire operation.

In our study we will be finding how customer satisfaction can be increased. What are the
factors which lead to customer satisfaction in aviation industry? What are the problems which
creates dis-satisfaction among customers?

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LITERATURE REVIEW

1) International Journal of Management and Strategy

(IJMS) 2012, Vol. No.3, Issue 5, July-Dec.2012
Title: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MEASUREMENT IN AIRLINE SERVICES: AN
EMPIRICAL STUDY OF NEED GAP ANALYSIS
AUTHOR: Dr.Makarand Upadhyaya, Associate Professor (Marketing), College of Business
Management, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia.
In his study Dr. M Upadhaya has focused on customer complaint and its quick resolution. In
Airlines industry customer complains plays a vital role in customer satisfaction. He focused
on 2 types of complain, controlled complaint are those which is under control such as fare
related problems, flight delays, misbehaviour by staff, etc. and uncontrolled are those such as
weather problems, technical fault, etc. So for solving these problems trained staff is required
who can effectively minimize or handle these problems.

2)International Review of Business Research Papers

Volume 6. Number 6. December 2010 Pp.48 65
Title: A Comparative Study between Indian Public and Private (Low Cost) Airlines With
Respect To Their Passenger Service
Author: Dipa Mitra.
In her study she has given importance on healthy relationship between customer and the
Airline service provider. The Airlines Industry today should aim not only at delivery of the
service to the passengers, but they should also focus on satisfying the passengers with the
services. They need to know the customer preferences and should bring changes according to
that. Then the customer will be satisfied. Some of the private players are very much
concerned about their passengers as well as some of them are implementing low price
strategy to attract the passengers. So in this competitive age, the success of Airlines is very
much dependent on the passenger service provided at all levels, after and during the journey
to make their passengers satisfied.

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3) ZENITH
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research
Vol.2 Issue 2, February 2012, ISS N 2231 5780
Title: A STUDY ON SERVICE QUALITY AND PASSENGER SATISFACTION
ON INDIAN AIRLINES.
Author: R.ARCHANA and DR.M.V.SUBHA
They have studied the factors which influences on passenger satisfaction. They have
identified that Cuisines provided, seat comfort, safety these factors have an important role in
customer satisfaction. They have also found that customer satisfaction depends on personal
entertainment, which is an important factor in flying decisions of passenger. According to
their study online seat booking, call centre facilities and reservation/cancellation is highest
influencing factor in flying decisions of the passengers.

4) Title: Application of Customer Relationship Management in Airline Industry

Authors: Mohammad. J. Tarokh and Mahmoud Majidi.
According to Mohammad. J. Tarokh and Mahmoud Majidi customer relationship
management has a vital role in satisfaction of Airlines services. The marketers should
understand the customer needs and wants to satisfy those needs. For that building a good
relation is very important with the customers. They have talked about Airline e-CRM which
provides an understanding of customer behaviour and enables airlines to measure results of
marketing changes. E-CRM supports fully digital information exchange between airlines and
customers, reduced cost of a customer contact. It also helps to dynamically adapt to customer
behaviors.

5) Title: The Impact of Expectation & Perception on Customer Satisfaction in

Airline Industry (A Case Study of Mahan Air)
Authors: Dariush Rafati and Peyman Shokrollahi.
In their studies they have talked about the gap between customer expectations and
perceptions about services. They have said that according to the educational level the
expectation of the customer differs. They have also said that gap between customer's
expectations and perceptions in airline service attributes help top managers to understand
which services are important to customers and which services are consistent to customers
perceptions.

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6) INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS

VOL 4, NO 6. OCTOBER 2012.
Title: IMPACT OF EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:
STUDY OF AIRLINE INDUSTRY IN PAKISTAN.
Authors: Muhammad Bilal Ahmad, Ejaz Wasay and Saif Ullah Malik.
Employee motivation is an important factor, which may be directly or indirectly related to
customer satisfaction. If the employees are well motivated then they perform better job. And
if the employees work efficiently and provide services to the customer then the customer get
satisfied. They have said employee motivation is affected by both personal characteristics as
well as workplace environment. If the employees behave nicely with the customer then the
customer feel good and they think the company is showing respect and providing value. And
the employee behaviour will be good when they will be motivated and there is a healthy pay
system and work environment.

7) Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 5(11): 718-723, 2011

ISSN 1991-8178
Title: Customer Satisfaction Delivery In Airline Industry In Malaysia: A Case of Low Cost
Carrier.
Authors: Jayaraman Munusamy, Shankar Chelliah, Sivamurugan Pandian.
They have found that the factors such as the pre-flight services which they are proving,
customer relationship management and cabin environment and in-flight services that
customers are getting influence customer satisfaction. If these are very good then customer
gets satisfied. The customers will be satisfied if the cabin facilities, baggage systems are well
maintained. Customer satisfaction also depends on how they are maintaining relationship
with the customers. How the staffs are behaving with customer, entertainment facilities,
timing plays a key role in customer satisfaction in Airlines Industry.

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8) Open Access Scientific Reports. Degirmenci et al., 1:5

http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/scientificreports.294
Title: Customer Satisfaction Measurement in Airline Services Using Servqual.
Authors: Elif Degirmenci, Huseyin Basligil, Ahmet Bolat and Yavuz Ozdemir.
In their study they have focused on service quality, CRM, Loyalty, Airline Service Quality
etc., which play an important factor for customer satisfaction. To satisfy the customer the
Airlines Company should maintain good relationship with them. It will be possible when they
will provide the best quality service to the customer. The service provider should take care of
in-flight services, it has to be improved. Then the loyalty of customers will be increased.
Customer loyalty depends on the educational level of the customer.

9) CFS AVIATION INDUSTRY CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY 2010

In this report the study was conducted in Nigeria. It is found that they prefer advance ticket
booking services and they have bad experience. So to satisfy the customer the Airlines
Company should take care of this issue. Customers also think about safety and security in
flight. So the marketers need to improve the security system. The service providers need to
make a smooth process of ticket reservation and ticket cancellation. Customer satisfaction
mainly depends on these above issues.

10) Title: Improving Customer Satisfaction in an Airlines Industry.

By: BREAKTHROUGH MANAGEMENT GROUP INTERNATIONAL
According to the report the report Cabin appearance Staff should be trained well. They should
also give importance to build effective communication in all locations.

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11) Title: Measuring Customer Expectations of Service Quality: case Airline Industry
By: Ekaterina Tolpa
Date: 06.06.2012
According to the report it is found that the importance is given on the quality of the services
in order to satisfy the customer. When the expectations of the customer get fulfilled then they
become satisfied. Service quality includes customer safety, flight frequency, reliability etc.
They should also focus on customer segmentation. When the flight frequencies get increased
and safety measure is available then the customers get satisfied.

12) Customer Satisfaction Heterogeneity and Shareholder Value

Rajdeep Grewal
Alka V. Citrin
Murali Chandrashekaran
Revision Requested, Under Second Review: Journal of Marketing Research
October 2008
In this researcher paper researcher has describe the importance of investment. They have
done a research which says that shareholder value and the growth of company depends upon
the investment done by the company i.e. in which sector or in which department they has
invested its money. In this research they have adopted the view that customer satisfaction is a
key marketplace asset, they have tested two conjectures: (a) objective service quality and
advertising impact not only the level of customer satisfaction, but also the heterogeneity in
this asset get impacted, and (b) Satisfaction heterogeneity will decrease the utility of the
satisfaction asset in driving shareholder value, and also influence the contemporaneous
volatility in shareholder value. They have done this research using secondary data from
diverse sources describing the dynamics within the U.S. Airlines Industry over a 9 year
period from 1997- 2005. They come to conclusion that increasing levels of satisfaction
heterogeneity serve to reduce the volatility in shareholder value.

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13) International Air

Transport Association (IATA)

Montreal Geneva
Vision 2050
Singapore, 12 February 2011
Giovanni Bisignani - Director General & CEO IATA
The whole research is done on the future problems, need, requirement, changes that will be
face by aviation industry. The problem describe in this research is that the number of
passengers increasing day by day and the cost of travelling has decrease, if this the scenario
now what will be in 2050. So the modification that aviation industry should do for their
benefits are mention and research has been done on these things. Solution trace out by the
research is that all the company in this industry should be united and there should be no
competition, all should go hand in hand. Even they should pursue government to join with
them. There should be change in the leadership. They said that last decade has shown that by
working together with a common purpose, change is possible and also flexibility and
openness to change will mark the way forward.

14) Linkages between customer service, customer satisfaction and performance in the
airline industry: Investigation of non-linearity and moderating effects
Adams B. Steven*
Yan Dong
Martin Dresner
Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742

This research paper investigates the linkages between customer service and customer
satisfaction, and firm performance in the U.S. airline industry. They had examined the
moderating effects of market concentration and firm dominance on the service-satisfactionperformance relationship. This research says that customer satisfaction and airlines
profitability are dependent and they are affected by the market. Research says that
considering customer satisfaction and customers services airlines industries can increase their
profit.

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15) Customer Satisfaction in the Airline Industry: the Case of British Airways

Giovanna Nicolini and Silvia Salini

Department of Economics, Business and Statistics, University of Milan, Italy
In this research paper two different non-classic methods of research had been use for research
of customer satisfaction in British Airways, based on the analysis the qualitative data, and are
applied to evaluate customer satisfaction. They said that quality and satisfaction is based on
two different approaches involving objective and subjective aspects. For the purpose of
research they had use Decision Tree theory and secondly they have use Rasch model for
study. By both the mean of study it can be said that customer satisfaction is necessary in
British Airline.

16) Measuring Customer Expectations of Service Quality:

Masters Thesis
This research had been done in order to understand the concept of service quality and find out
the different approaches to measure service quality. Another reason was to define a process
model which enables to measure service quality in air transportation based on literature
review. The utmost operation is to test the process model on selected customer group and
then the return result can be used to investigate what services customers considers as the
core quality, on their flight experience and to check whether there is any deviation from the
proposed quality and actual applied service.

17) FUTURE OF AIR TRAVEL INDUSTRY: RELATION OF GROWTH AND

CONSUMER SATISFACTION
Manzoor Nazir Bhatti et. al., Int. J Eco. Res., 2010 (1(1), 19-37
The motive of this research is to find out the present and future aspects of aviation industry in
relates to growth and consumer satisfaction. The sample had been collected from various
sources. It was found that both the US and European major airlines does not had constant
profits in the business. They either had losses or marginal profits in recent history. However it
has been noticed that low cost carriers have been able to sustain in both the markets because
of their effective marketing strategies. However for both the airlines that is for executive class
as well as for low cost carriers future is unpredictable.

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18) Passenger Satisfaction in Indian Aviation Industry: An Analytical Approach

Dipa Mitra
January 6-9, 2013
The 21st century is considered as the service industry century. Service industry is moving and
growing at a rapid pace across developed and developing centuries. Services generally
termed as an intangible product which can be measured by the level of satisfaction. Another
definition of service can be offered as an activity or benefit that one party offers to another in
a non tangible form. Now in todays scenario every industry needs to be properly handling
the CRM that is Customer Relationship Management. Thus it has been an important outlook
for the service industry to identify parameters that cause customer more satisfied and should
adopt those strategies.

19) Title: Service quality, satisfaction, and behavioural intentions

A study of low-cost airline carriers in Thailand
Authors: Gour C. Saha, Theingi
In this paper they have focused that flight schedules, flight attendant and the service quality
are the key factors of customer satisfaction. They have said that customer satisfaction
depends on the price of the airlines services. They have focused on the services like comfort,
food, and other in flight services. These leads to customer satisfaction. Customer
satisfaction also depends on how they are handling the complaints and flights are running in
time.

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20) Branding satisfaction in the airline industry:

Kee Mun, Wong* and Ghazali, Musa
Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Accepted 23 March, 2011

The airline industry has undergone through a fast moving ride for the past few years. One of
the main developments in the current aviation industry is the growing popularity of low cost
airline with high quality service. The competition between Malaysia airlines and Air Pacific
has been cut throat as regards to price factor. Both the airlines have different customer base
and hence offers different service experience. It is also note able that differentiate in
providing higher service quality is the main factor to increase or to attract customers towards
them. It has been noticed that customers are getting attracted towards the intangible service
where monetary value is less than the services being provided.

21) In-flight Meals, Passengers Level of Satisfaction and Re-flying Intention

Mohd Zahari, M. S, Salleh, N. K., Kamaruddin, M. S. Y and Kutut, M. Z.

World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 60 2011

Service quality is the essence of airline companies which makes their image differentiate
from others and keep their image in the minds of passengers. Many airlines followed the
route of higher service quality through on ground and off ground service. Inboard meal is one
of the important aspect of the airline operation. Now days it became a marketing strategy.
This research depicts the reaction of customers through in flight meals to see the satisfying
level and re flying intention. Food not only sacrifices the inboard customers but also have an
effect on flying intention.

22) International Airline Quality Measurement

Page 12

Dean E. Headley
Wichita State University, KS and Brent D. Bowen
Journal of Air Transportation World Wide Vol. 2, No. 1. 1997
In earlier days airlines quality had been measured on survey which offers the services
expected and the prescribed services. Service quality is the difference between the service
expected and the actual service being provided. Services should match according customers
expectations. The survey helps the airline companies to know exactly what they want and
accordingly operations have taken place.

23) Customer Satisfaction in the Airline Industry: the Case of British Airways
Giovanna Nicolini and Silvia Salini
Department of Economics, Business and Statistics, University of Milan, Italy
In this research paper two different non-classic methods of research had been use for research
of customer satisfaction in British Airways, based on the analysis the qualitative data are
applied to evaluate level of customer satisfaction. They said that quality and satisfaction is
based on two different approaches involving objective and subjective aspects. For the
purpose of research they had use Decision Tree theory and secondly they have use Rasch
model for study. By both the mean of study it can be said that customer satisfaction is
necessary in British Airline.

24) Strategic Marketing Planning for the Tourism Industry

\David L. Edgell, Sr.
Kurtis M. Ruf
Alpa Agarwal
In this article author describes new planning strategies for tourism industries. Authors
emphasizes on the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness in the marketing process of this
industry. The article describes that how to analyze the market and make strategies. Author
have given some steps that include needs analysis of customers, research and analysis,
strategic positioning, marketing plan development and training, implementation of the
strategies, evaluation of the strategies, and adjustment these will improve their planning
process. Through this the customer satisfaction can be achieved. Tourism industry is also
connected with aviation industry so some of these points can be helpful in increasing
customer satisfaction in aviation industry.

25) Customer Satisfaction with Air Services Delivery within Kiribati.

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By : Aako Teikake
Degree of master of aviation
Massey University , Turitea Campus, Palmerston North
March 2012
In this research the importance is been given to customer satisfaction as it playes an
important role, as airline can survive and strengthen their competitiveness. Service quality is
an important factor for customer satisfaction, this research will be helpful for airport
management and also aircraft management in increasing the customer satisfaction. The
questionnaire was made using SKYTRAX(one of the method of research), stratified sampling
process was use for the research. Through this survey it was found that Kiribati air services
have low customer satisfaction. The problem was easily traced out as it was a research done
through primary data.
26) THE ROLE OF PACKAGING IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITHIN THE
SUPPLY CHAIN : A STUDY IN AIRLINE INDUSTRY
CYNTHIA DE WET
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
2007
In the research author describes the importance of providing the best services, so that
customer satisfaction can be acquire. The study is been done in detail regarding supply chain
of South Africa Airways and the problem has been trace out through this detail research. Both
the primary and secondary data were use in conducting this research. Two survey has been
done in this research paper one was done with staff of the airline and other was done with
customer of this airline.
27) The vicious cycle: growth and declining quality in the
US airline industry: some lessons for new start-ups
World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sust. Development, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2005
Dawna L. Rhoades
College of Business,
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University,
600, S. Clyde Morris Blvd,
Daytona Beach, FL 32114, USA
The research says that there over 200 airlines have started up and failed in U.S. the reason
behind this was the competitive pressures and economic conditions which result to the failure
of many carriers. This research paper examines the pressures which say that rapid expansion
can create including downward spiralling levels of quality, declining load factors, and death
in the airline industry. The research paper examines the growth rates and service quality of
some airlines of U.S and helps to improve them.

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28) The inuence of service failure and service recovery on airline passengers relationships
with domestic airlines: an exploratory study.
P.G. Mostert, C.F. De Meyer & L.R.J. van Rensburg
Research paper describes that Service failures and the subsequent service recovery eorts of
an
Organization can have a profound eect on customers satisfaction with an organization as
well as on the quality of the relationship with the organization, despite other eorts by the
organization to build long-term relationships with its customers. In this research the data were
collected from passengers ying with South African domestic passenger airlines departing
from
OR Tambo International Airport. The problem regarding the customer satisfaction in
domestic airlines was traced out.

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FRAMEWORK
Independent Variable

Dependent Variable

Customer

Price

Satisfaction

Service
Quality

Page 16

PROBLEM DEFINITION

Identify the factors those leads to customer satisfaction in Airlines Industry.

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OBJECTIVES

To determine the relationship between Price and customer satisfaction.

To study the role of service quality in providing the excellent customer satisfaction in
Airline industry.

HYPOTHESIS
H1. Service Quality has a positive influence over the customers decision regarding choosing
the airlines to travel.
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H2. Price has a positive influence over the customers decision regarding choosing the
airlines to travel.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design: In order to achieve the above study objectives, we have
used the Simple Random Sampling technique, randomly intercepted and
administered fully structured questionnaires to target respondents.
Sample: We have targeted the age group of above 20 and who often use
flight services.
Area of Survey: Gandhinagar
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Gender: Male and Female both.

Sample Size: 30
Data Collection Method: We have collected data through survey
method.
Survey is done through questionnaire filling.

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Statement 1: Service quality influences my decision while selecting

your preferred Airlines.

Strongly Agree
6

Agree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

20

Disagree
4

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Strongly Disagree
0

Neither Agree nor Disagree; 13%

Strongly Agree; 20%

Agree; 67%

Interpretation: It is found from the study that 20% of the respondents strongly prefer the
service quality and 67% of respondents also prefer service quality while flying. So the
Airlines Company should give importance to improve the quality of the services to attract
more and existing customers.

Statement 2: Service quality differs from Airlines Service Provider to

Airlines Service Provider.
Strongly
Agree

Agree
4

Strongly
Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Disagree
23
3
0

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10%

13%

77%

Interpretation: It is found from the research that 13% of the respondents strongly think that
service quality differs from Airlines Company to Company. And 77% of the respondents
perception is that different Airlines Company provides different types of services. So the
Airlines Company should focus on Customer services.

Statement 3: Airlines service Providers should pay more attention on the

quality of the services.

Strongly Agree

Neither Agree nor

Agree
Disagree
12
13

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Strongly
Disagree Disagree
5
0

Neither Agree nor Disagree; 17%

Strongly Agree; 40%

Agree; 43%

Interpretation: It is seen from the study that about 85% of respondents want that the quality
of the service that Airlines Companies are providing should be improved. So quality is the
issue that customers provide importance in terms of satisfaction. To satisfy the customers
companies should improve the quality of the service.

Statement 4: Satisfaction level depends on in-flight service quality.

Strongly Agree

Agree
7

Neither Agree nor Disagree

15

Disagree
6

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Strongly
Disagree
0

Disagree; 7%
Strongly Agree; 23%
Neither Agree nor Disagree; 20%

Agree; 50%

Interpretation: The services which the Airlines service providers are giving in the flight it
has an important impact in terms of customer satisfaction. Nearly 75% of respondents think
that their satisfaction depends on In-flight service quality.

Statement: 5: I prefer online ticket booking while purchasing ticket.

Strongly Agree Agree

Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree
6
15
7
1

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Strongly
Disagree
1

Strongly Disagree; 3%
Disagree; 3%
Strongly Agree; 20%
Neither Agree nor Disagree; 23%

Agree; 50%

Interpretation: From our study we have found that 70% of the respondents prefer online
ticket booking while purchasing ticket.

Statement 6: I choose the Airlines service according to the price of the ticket.

Strongly Agree

Agree
5

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Disagree

15

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Strongly
Disagree
0

Disagree; 10%

Strongly Agree; 17%

Neither Agree nor Disagree; 23%

Agree; 50%

Interpretation: It is shown from the research that 67% of the respondents low fair ticket
while flying.

Statement 7: Types of offers and discounts on tickets influence in my

purchasing decision.

Strongly Agree
17

Agree

Neither Agree nor

Disagree

10

Disagree Strongly Disagree

1

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Disagree; 7%
Neither Agree nor Disagree; 3%
Agree; 33%

Strongly Agree; 57%

Interpretation: It shows that most of the people and 80% of the respondents prefer to buy
tickets at the time of offers and discounts.

Statement 8: The speed of response to any queries enables to select a particular

Airline Service.

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neither Agree nor

Disagree
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Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

12

3%

7%
30%

20%

40%

Interpretation: 70% of the respondents wants that their queries should be solved as soon as
possible. It has an impact on customer satisfaction.

Statement 9: On time performance of scheduled flights influence our flying

decisions.

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Strongly Agree

Agree

15

Neither Agree nor Disagree

8

Disagree
6

Strongly
Disagree

Strongly Disagree; 3%
Neither Agree nor Disagree; 20%
Strongly Agree; 50%
Agree; 27%

Interpretation: 77% of the respondents prefer the flights which maintain the proper time
table.

Statement 10: Reduction in the price of ticket will increase my no. of flying.

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Strongly Agree

Agree
16

Neither Agree nor Disagree

13

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Neither Agree nor Disagree; 3%

Agree; 43%

Strongly Agree; 53%

Interpretation: Most of the people i.e. maximum no of respondents wants that the price of
the ticket should b decreased and according to them it will increase the no of flying.

CONCLUSION
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Satisfying customer is the main motto of any marketer. Price and service quality affects the
customer satisfaction. Specifically consumers tend to consider the relative relationship
between price and their expectations about the performance of the product. Price plays a
major role in consumer satisfaction in aviation sector. From this study we can see that price
sensitive consumer focuses on price and compares it with the utility and benefits of the
services. If an Airline company is providing a compatible price and increase in price are fare
then customer takes it positively which creates a sense of satisfaction among the consumers.
In case of Airline services most of the customer focuses on the price of the ticket to travel. It
is found that wherever and whenever they will get a ticket for a lesser price, the customers
have a tendency to buy the ticket. Sometimes they wait for offer prices and if they also pay
high prices for the service, they will expect a good service. Conversely, younger passengers
or passengers with lower incomes are more price-sensitive, and usually purchase tickets
based on the lowest price available, and also may have different levels of expectations. This
may lead to a different service experience each flight, and make younger passengers or lower
incomes passengers less likely to be satisfied with the level of service provided. If the price
matches with their expectations they become satisfied.
Without any doubt, service quality is very important component in any business related
activity. This is especially so, to marketer a customers evaluation of service quality and the
resulting level of satisfaction are perceived to affect bottom line measures of business
success. Service quality can be defined as a consumers overall impression of the relative
efficiency of the organization and its services. Understanding exactly what customers expect
is the most crucial step in defining and delivering high-quality service. Service quality is one
of the best models for evaluating customers expectations and perceptions. If the passenger is
not satisfied, due to the negative experience, the client will reconsider the buying decision for
further flights and will probably switch to another airline. So Airline managers should better
serve their customers, monitor and develop service quality to achieve the highest level of
their passengers satisfaction.
From this research we have identified that price and service quality are two important factors
which have huge impact on customer satisfaction in Airlines Industry. So the marketers
should focus on these two factors and should take proper steps in terms of customer
preferences in this changing competitive era. Delivering high-quality service to passengers is
essential for airline survival, so airlines need to understand what passengers expect from their
services.

IMPLEMENTATION
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We have used questionnaire method where different question were asked to different
respondents. Basically all the questions were based on service and price factors. After going
through all the replies, we came to know that service quality and price does have a direct
impact on customer satisfaction in aviation industry. Customers tries to select those flights
where service quality is high with minimum ticket fare. So companies need to look deeply
into the price and service quality department so as to increase the customer satisfaction which
in turn leads to more profit. Inflight services should also be taken into consideration. We can
assume that if the service quality is more in compare to the price of it the rush of customers
will be more and vice versa. So our suggestion will be to select the best combination of
service quality and price where the ratio is equal or more than 2:1.

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REFRENCES

1) http://www.ibef.org/industry/aviation.aspx,
2) http://business.mapsofindia.com/aviation

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